Personal Proximity Alert Device and Associated Behavior Modification System

ABSTRACT

A personal proximity alert device and associated behavior modification system configured to monitor and/or detect a hand of a user or another person or object penetrating a personal protection zone around the facial area of the user and to alert users to such detected risks and/or to the presence of others approaching within a predetermined minimum socially safe distance to reduce the likelihood of accidentally transmitting viruses or other pathogens.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a device and system useful for reducing thespread of contagious viruses, bacteria and other pathogens among personswho may otherwise be at risk of becoming infected, especially during thepresent corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic that has expanded world-wideduring recent months. Although health organizations and governmentalagencies have repeatedly communicated general warnings and specializedguidelines to the populace regarding the importance of disinfecting,hand washing, facial touching, social distancing and the wearing ofmasks to reduce the transmission of such pathogens by social,interpersonal or physical contact and aerosolization (such as bycoughing, sneezing, speaking or even breathing within a crowded orconfined space), new, improved and cost-efficient articles, devices andsystems are still needed to assist families, health care workers andother first responders, educators, students, employees, businessmanagers and operators of elderly care and prison facilities, forexample, in identifying, recording, reporting and tracking symptomaticor asymptomatic carriers, maintaining appropriate social distancing withintegrated risk-alert and warning systems, and behaviorally training orconditioning persons to avoid facial self-touching or physical contactwith objects or surfaces likely to pose a risk of viral contamination.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

Recent events surrounding the onset and rapid spread of the corona virushave brought to mind similar prior events relating to contagions andepidemics such as Ebola, SARS, and Legionnaires disease, more commonstrains of influenza, and even the common cold. Such epidemics can havetremendous societal impact and create stress in many different aspectsof life, including for example, healthcare resources, workplaceenvironments, schools and other public facilities, as well as entireindustries such as transportation, manufacturing, entertainment, foodpreparation and delivery, hospitality and the like.

Viruses, germs and pathogenic contaminants can be spread by directphysical contact between people, or between people and contaminatedobjects, or by airborne transmission as a result of contaminated dustparticles or respiratory droplets that become aerosolized when aninfected person sneezes or coughs. Communicable diseases are oftenspread by the successive physical touching of an object or anotherperson. Door handles, seat belts, gasoline pumps, money and furnitureare all examples of ordinary objects that are commonly touched orhandled by numerous people in a single day and can contribute to thespread of contagions or disease. Tools, devices, substances andprocedures used to limit the spread of contagious diseases havetypically included: quarantine, physical segregation and isolation ofinfected or exposed individuals; protective masks, gloves and otherclothing; antiseptic and disinfectant liquids, sprays and wipes;irradiation; precautionary body temperature monitoring and medicaltesting; and the like. Despite many efforts to control the spread ofcontagious diseases, significant problems remain—in part because ofinter-personal contact and in part because of the vast number ofdifferent physical objects that are handled each day by the generalpopulace while attempting to engage in their usual daily activities.

Another significant contributor to the spread of infectious diseases canbe personal “self-touching” that occurs when an individual who may havehandled or contacted previously contaminated objects, surfaces or otherpersons with hands or fingers subsequently touches a portion of her orhis own face or head (collectively referred to below as “facialself-touching”). Such facial self-touching is often unintentional orhabitual, or is done subconsciously or reflexively, such as a nervous“tic,” or in response to a stimulus such as an itch or other sensation,often without realization by the person doing the touching. A device andsystem are therefore needed that can sense or detect a person's hand orfingers moving toward the same person's head or face; that can providean audible, visible or tactile alert that will cause the person tochange or redirect her or his behavior to avoid such inadvertent orunintended facial self-touching, and optionally count and save or recordthe number of proximal hand approaches and/or self-touches that occurwithin a measured interval. Such a device and system are desirablysusceptible to high-speed, low-cost manufacturing, light in weight,durable and dependable, with a service life sufficient to withstandrepeated cycles of operation over a reasonable use period withoutrecharging, service, maintenance or replacement of component parts. Sucha device and system are not believed to be presently available but aredisclosed below.

Because appropriate social distancing (i.e., maintaining physicalseparation of at least three feet, and preferably six feet or morebetween persons) has also been recognized as a critical factor incontrolling the interpersonal transmission of pathogenic contaminants, aneed exists for improved articles, devices and systems capable ofmonitoring, sensing, reporting, warning, tracking, recording, tracingand communicating the movements of people who are going about theirdaily activities. Devices and systems useful for achieving thosepurposes are disclosed here.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment of the invention, a personal proximity alert deviceand behavior modification system are disclosed that are configured toreduce occurrences of facial self-touching and thereby also reduce thelikelihood of spreading infectious pathogens or contaminants present onthe hands of a user to one or more parts of the user's facial area, andespecially to the areas around the mouth, eyes or nose of the user,which are likely to facilitate the spread of such infectious pathogensor contaminants to the digestive, circulatory, neural or pulmonarysystems of the user.

In another embodiment of the invention, a personal proximity alertdevice and behavior modification system are disclosed that can generatean audible, visible or tactile alert whenever a user's face or hands aremoved to a position proximal to the face for the purpose of modifyingthe user's behavior to reduce occurrences of facial self-touching.

In another embodiment of the invention, a personal proximity alertdevice and behavior modification system are disclosed that can count andrecord, save or transmit the number of times at least a part of a handof the user penetrates a “personal protection zone” around the user'sfacial area within a requisite counting period.

In another embodiment of the invention, a personal proximity alertdevice and behavior modification system are disclosed that can count andrecord, save or transmit the number of times at least part of the handof a user contacts the facial area of the user within a requisitecounting period.

In another embodiment, a personal proximity alert device and behaviormodification system are disclosed that has an infrared (IR) sensor andan ancillary temperature recording device that can monitor or determineand record, save or transmit the facial temperature of the user atrequisite times for the purpose of ascertaining whether the user mayhave become infected by an infectious pathogen.

In another embodiment, the personal proximity alert device of theinvention system satisfactorily comprises at least one detection member(such as infrared (IR) sensors) for detecting temperatures or separationdistances, and at least one alert notification member that communicatecooperatively to alert the user whenever a part of at least one hand ofa user penetrates a “personal protection zone” disposed around thefacial area of the user or when two are more users of such devices orsystems are moving toward or into a proscribed area or have violated aminimum separation distance as determined, for example, by signalstrength or by GPS positioning.

In another embodiment, the behavior modification system of the inventionsatisfactorily comprises a personal proximity alert device having thecapability to communicate with other devices, networks or systems (i.e.fit bit, WAN, medical database, etc.) and such communication capabilitymay be achieved via wired (i.e. USB, Ethernet, etc.) or wireless methods(i.e. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, etc.) If desired, the subject deviceand system can also be configured to record, save or transmit user dataregarding facial touches or near-touches for personal use, or forsubsequent contact tracing or for use in generating new alerts. Suchtechnology can also be used to time stamp occurrences, generate datalogs, and prepare maps that are helpful in cataloging and distributinginformation useful in monitoring high-risk areas or for controllingparticipation in so-called “super-spreader” events

In another embodiment, the invention comprises a personal proximityalert device that detects a finger, thumb or hand of a user movingtoward the head or face of the user and alerts the user to pendingphysical contact before such contact occurs and, preferably,sufficiently in advance of such contact that the user is able to respondby controlling the movement to prevent the physical contact fromoccurring. In addition to usefulness for retraining users of themethods, devices and systems disclosed here, when such tools andpractices are adopted and implemented over time by large groups ofusers, significant reductions in the spread of COVID or other pandemicviruses can be achieved.

In another embodiment, the subject invention can include a touch sensorthat is worn on the hand(s), finger(s) or wrist of a user and isconfigured to generate an electronic pulse whenever a touch surfacemakes contact with a part of the facial area of the user. Alternatively,touch, temperature, or positional sensing and notification devices andsystems can be incorporated into wearable garments, hats, shoes, jewelryand the like to assist in alerting, warning or protecting a user orbystander of potential risk, or in behaviorally conditioning a user toobserve and maintain desirable social distancing and other safebehaviors.

In another embodiment, the personal proximity alert device and behaviormodification system of the invention satisfactorily comprises, inaddition to a detection member and an alert notification member, one ormore of the following ancillary devices: a preprogrammed or programmablecontroller; a power supply; a transmitter/receiver; a timer; a proximityzone penetration counter; a facial self-touch counter; and a datastorage or recording device.

In another embodiment, a time interval between detection and alertnotification can be preset using an electronic controller or timer, andcan vary in accordance with factors such as the proximity of the hand tothe face and the speed and direction of hand movement relative to thehead or face. The interval is desirably sufficient to enable the user toreact and respond by moving the user's hand(s) and/or head to avoid orreduce the likelihood of physical contact that would constitute facialself-touching.

The detection member and the alert notification member of the personalproximity device can be configured within a single element or can beseparately configured into two or more elements disposed apart from eachother. The physical configuration of the personal proximity alert deviceand behavior modification system of the invention can also varyaccording to the particular detection technology selected for use in thedetection member and in the alert notification member of the device. Forexample and without limitation, the detection technology can be basedupon and include commercially available components configured toimplement magnetic, acoustic, infrared, radio frequency or optical(laser) detection. The detection member of the subject device can bedirectional or non-directional. If the subject device is used primarilyat a time when the user is sitting, for example, a properly positionedand calibrated detection member will be effective to trigger an alertnotification if the user's hands move into a defined personal protectionzone toward the head or face from any direction. The subject system canalso be utilized for detecting proximity to the face as opposed toproximity to a sensor

Depending upon the particular components selected for use in thedetector member and the alert notification member of the personalproximity alert device and behavior modification system of theinvention, a suitable power supply such as rechargeable ornon-rechargeable batteries can be provided as part of the subjectsystem.

For some devices and systems of the invention, elements of the detectionmember or of the alert notification system may be worn attached to orembedded in one or more of the following: a cap, visor or headband; oneor more wristbands, watch, bracelet or ring; in a pin or pen; inear-pods or earplugs; in eyeglasses; in a necklace or choker; or hangingfrom a short lanyard worn around the neck. In one embodiment of theinvention, for example, laterally spaced-apart detection members aredisposed at each side of eyeglass frames and an audio alert notificationgenerator and battery are disposed inside one of the earpieces. In onealternate embodiment of the invention, the detection member has adetection member and a visual alert notification member mountedforwardly of the user's eyes in the bill of a visor worn on the user'shead. In still another embodiment of the invention, the detection membercomprises two laterally opposed detection elements disposed in pull-outslides situated on each side of a head support collar worn around theneck of the user, with a tactile alert notification member andrechargeable battery disposed in the base of the collar behind theuser's head. In still another embodiment of the invention, one or moremirrors disposed beneath or forwardly of the bill of a cap can receiveand redirect infrared radiation from the face of a user to an IR sensorand recorder or alert system adapted to notify a wearer if his or herown facial temperature exceeds a predetermined norm for a sufficientperiod of time.

The alert notification member of the invention can be satisfactorilyconfigured to receive a communications signal or other input from thedetection member of the subject personal proximity alert device and thenquickly trigger an audible, visible or tactile alert to the user. Anaudible alert can, for example, be a beeper producing a readilyidentifiable audio signal sufficiently loud to get the immediateattention of the user. If the subject device and system are usedregularly, the sounding of the audible alert should condition the userto initiate a reflexive response that will cause her or his hands to bedrawn away from the user's face, thereby successfully interrupting thefacial self-touching behavior. With an alert notification member thatgenerates a visual signal, a solid or blinking LED bulb readily visibleto the user can similarly condition the user to move her or his handsaway from the face and refrain from self-touching for at least a shortinterval. With an alert notification member that generates a tactilealert in response to movement of the hands or fingers toward the head orface of the user, a small motor having an eccentrically mounted rotor oranother similarly effective device will generate a tactile stimulussufficient to produce the desired response.

In another embodiment of the invention, a small plastic box with a beltclip worn on the belt or waistband of a user satisfactorily comprises aselectively programmable processor operatively coupled to a rechargeablebattery and an associated transmitter/receiver configured to communicatewirelessly with a pair of motion detection sensors configured asearplugs that also generate and play an audible alert when signaled bythe processor in response to movement of the user's hands toward her orhis face.

The personal proximity alert notification system of the invention can beconfigured to operate with or without interaction or input from theuser, and any alert notification can be selectively disabled if desired.While primarily intended for the principal purpose of reminding andconditioning users to refrain from unintentional facial self-touchingand thereby reduce the likelihood of spreading infectious diseases,viruses and other biologically hazardous contaminants, it will beappreciated upon reading this disclosure that the subject invention canalso be used or reconfigured for use to achieve other beneficialpurposes and results.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is further described and explained in relation to thefollowing drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagrammatic view of one embodiment of a personalproximity alert device and behavioral modification system of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a simplified diagrammatic view of a personal protection zonedisposed around the facial area of a user;

FIG. 3 is a simplified diagrammatic view illustrating an two individualseach surrounded by a personal protection zone and an alert notificationzone, with the two respective alert notification zones being separatedby a distance “D;”

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a cap having releasably attached toone embodiment of a personal proximity alert device of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the cap of FIG. 4 with oneembodiment of a personal proximity alert device disposed under the billof the cap;

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of the personal proximity alert deviceof FIGS. 4 and 5 when detached from the cap;

FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of another embodiment of an alertnotification member of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the alert notification member of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of an IR sensingapparatus for use in some preferred embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view of the IR sensing apparatus of FIG.9; and

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic view depicting an embodiment of how sectionsof an infrared image of the face of a user can be mapped onto an IRsensor using a mirror having differently focused facets.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the embodiment of FIG. 1, behavior modification system 10of the invention satisfactorily comprises personal proximity alertdevice 13 further comprising a plurality of detector members 16, 18 andalert notification member 12. Alert notification member 12satisfactorily comprises preprogrammed or programmable controller 20that cooperatively communicates with detector members 16, 18 and withalert generators 14, power supply 28, timer 30, touch and near-touchcounter 32 and data storage member 33. Alert generators 22, 24, 26satisfactorily include one or more of audible alert generator 22, visualalert generator 24 and tactile generator alert 26. Other ancillarycomponents of behavior modification system are also disclosed but notdepicted in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, user 34 embodies facial area 36, personalprotection zone 38 disposed around facial area 36, and left and righthands 40, 42, respectively. Arrows 44, 46 diagrammatically depict howhands 40, 42, respectively of user 34 can be moved upwardly and inwardlyto move into or penetrate personal protection zone 38, thereby causingpersonal proximity alert device 13 of behavior modification system 10 toalert user 36 to assist user 36 in modifying her or his behavior so asto avoid making physical contact between either of hands 40, 42 andfacial area 36.

Although not depicted in the drawings, several examples of the manner inwhich detectors 16, 18 and personal proximity alert device 13 can beconfigured or worn for use by user 34 in association with behaviormodification system 10 of the invention are disclosed in the precedingtext and will become apparent upon reading the specification inconnection with the drawings provided.

Referring to FIG. 3 of the drawings, two users 36, 36′ of an embodimentof system 10 of the invention each have a personal protection zone 38,38′ and an arc 41, 41′ disposed at a predetermined minimum distance fromthe respective user 36, 36′. As shown, arcs 41, 41′ are themselvesseparated by a distance “D” that users 36, 36′ will desirably maintainas the minimum acceptable social distancing between themselves(preferably at least about 6 feet) through use of system 10 of theinvention. As one user 36, 36′ gets closer to the other, both users 36,36′ are desirably alerted to the approach of another person who could bea carrier of a transmittable pathogenic infection. In this case, anotification alert should desirably be provided to each user.

One embodiment of a personal proximity alert device 52 is furtherdepicted and described in relation to FIGS. 4-6 of the drawings.Referring to FIG. 4, a conventional cap 50 with a bill and an adjustableheadband is depicted with a personal proximity alert device 52 thatclipped onto the bill of cap 50 by a plurality of laterallyspaced-apart, resilient plastic spring clips 54. A selectivelydetachable power cord 60 is also disclosed, which can be connected to anelectrical AC/DC charger (not shown) for recharging a small batterydisposed inside personal proximity alert device 52 between uses.Alternatively, power cord 60 can be attached to a small DC battery packworn elsewhere on the person or apparel of a user.

Referring again to FIGS. 4-6, cap 50 is depicted in an inverted positionrelative to FIG. 3 and shows the underside of cap 50 with personalproximity alert sensor 52 clipped to the underside of the bill portionof cap 50 and power cord 60 again projecting forwardly from cap 50 as itwould be if being used to recharge personal proximity alert sensor 52between uses. Referring to FIG. 5, personal proximity alert device 52 isshown detached from cap 50 shown in FIGS. 3-4, but still has power cord60 releasably connected to the front side of body portion 56. Wingmembers 58 are depicted as being pivotably attached to body portion 56of personal proximity alert device 52. Body portion 56 and wing members58 desirably comprise other components of behavior modification system10 of the invention as previously discussed in relation to personalproximity alert device 13 of the invention. It should be understand bythe reader that personal proximity device 52 can, in some instances andembodiments, be reduced in size sufficiently that most of the elementscan be concealed inside the bill of cap 50. Sensors inside wing members58 can be configured to alert the user to something (including withoutlimitation the fingers or hands of the user) disposed within a monitoredfield such as the personal protection zone of the device, and can do sobased upon various available technologies including infrared,ultrasonic, electronic, and the like, to trigger a visual, audible ortactile alert for the user.

Alert behavior modification system 10 of the invention can in someembodiments detect either passive objects disposed within or approachingthe personal protection zone of a moving user of the device or movingobjects approaching proximity sensors disposed within the personalprotection zone of an active or passive user of proximity alert device13, 52.

Referring to FIGS. 7-9, another embodiment of the invention is disclosedthat comprises personal proximity alert device 70 having a body 72 withopposed, positionally adjustable engagement clips 74, 76 mounted onswivel pedestals 75, 77 that are releasably attachable to an article ofclothing or other article, such as the bill of a cap, a backpack strap,belt or the like. Referring to FIGS. 8-9, device 70 further comprisesUSB battery charging port 78, communications port 80, power/reset button82, battery status light 84, proximity sensors 86, 88 and unit statuslight 90.

Referring to FIGS. 10-12, according to one embodiment of the invention,a PIR (Passive InfraRed) Smart Hat is disclosed that is similarlyconfigured to the devices shown and described in relation to FIGS. 4-9except that it is specially designed to monitor the heat of a user'sface and detect changes in temperature. The temperature can be monitoredcontinuously, but to save battery life is more likely determined atperiodic intervals to determine a ΔT that can be recorded or averaged toproduce a digital or graphical readout. According to one preferredembodiment of the invention, because the hands and fingers are about 5degrees colder than the face, sensor assembly 100 can detect thepresence of a hand when it is in the field of view of the PIR 102. PIRsensor 102 desirably has two sensors 108 that monitor the sensed heatseparately. If the difference, which range can be adjusted, is toogreat, it will trigger an alert. This design can be constructed using amulti-panel Fresnel mirror 104 (chrome plated plastic attachable bymount 106) to focus different portions of the face of a user on the twosensors 108 within PIR 102. One sensor receives heat from the center ofthe face while the other sensor receives heat from around the center,thereby generating a profile of the IR energy (using the mirrors toreflect the face image back onto the sensor). If the hand or fingers ofa user (or someone else) enter the zone surrounding the center of theface, PIR 102 will detect the difference in heat signatures, and canaccurately and dependably trigger an alert.

It will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art uponreading this specification in relation to the accompanying drawings thatvarious other modifications and alterations to the disclosed apparatusand methods can also be made, and it is intended that the scope of theinvention disclosed herein be limited only by the broadestinterpretation of the appended claims to which the inventors are legallyentitled.

We claim:
 1. A personal proximity alert device comprising a detectionmember and an alert notification member that communicate cooperativelyto activate an audible, visible or tactile alert to a user whenever ahand of the user is moved toward the face of the user.
 2. The device ofclaim 1 wherein the alert to the user is triggered sufficiently inadvance of any physical contact between the hand and face of the userthat the user is able to control the movement of the hand of the usertoward the face of the user to prevent such physical contact fromoccurring.
 3. A behavior modification system comprising the personalproximity alert device of claim 1 in combination with a power supply anda preprogrammed or programmable processor operatively coupled to thedetection member and to the alert notification member.
 4. The system ofclaim 3 wherein the programmable processor is controllable toselectively determine the proximity between the hand and face of theuser when the alert is activated.
 5. The system of claim 3 wherein theprogrammable processor is controllable to selectively determine themaximum duration of the alert following activation.
 6. The device ofclaim 1 wherein the detection member and the alert notification memberare wearable by the user.
 7. The device of claim 6 wherein the detectionmember and the alert notification member are attachable to apparel oraccessories worn by the user.
 8. The device of claim 1 wherein thedetection member embodies detection technology selected from the groupconsisting of magnetic, acoustic, infrared, radio frequency, motion oroptical detection technology.
 9. The device of claim 1 wherein thedetection member comprises a plurality of spaced-apart detectionelements attachable to the hands of the user.
 10. The device of claim 1wherein the proximity alert notification member terminates an alert whenboth hands of the user are withdrawn beyond a predetermined proximity tothe face of the user.
 11. The system of claim 3 wherein the proximityalert notification member is operable without user interaction.
 12. Thesystem of claim 3 wherein the proximity alert notification member isinoperable without user interaction.
 13. The system of claim 3 furthercomprising a touch counter.
 14. The system of claim 3 further comprisinga near-touch counter.
 15. The system of claim 1 wherein the detectionmember and the alert notification member are attached to an apparel itemworn by the user.
 16. A personal proximity alert device that detects afinger, thumb or hand of a user moving into a personal protection zonearound the facial area of a user and alerts the user to pending physicalcontact with the facial area of the user before such contact occurs. 17.The personal proximity alert device of claim 16 that alerts the usersufficiently in advance of such contact that the user is able to controlthe movement to prevent the physical contact with the facial area of theuser from occurring.
 18. A behavior modification system useful foreducating, sensing, reminding, alerting, warning and conditioning usersto avoid behaviors such as facial self-touching and close interpersonalcontacts or grouping to thereby reduce the likelihood and transmissionrate of viral infections such as corona virus (COVID-19), influenza andother pathogens, the system comprising at least one personal proximityalert device further comprising at least one detector device and atleast one alert notification member.
 19. The behavior modificationsystem of claim 18 further comprising a digital controller and at leastone audible, visual or tactile alert generator.
 20. The behaviormodification system of claim 18 further comprising a power supply. 21.The behavior modification system of claim 18 further comprising a timer.22. The behavior modification system of claim 18 further comprising atouch counter.
 23. The behavior modification system of claim 18 furthercomprising a data storage member.
 24. The behavior modification systemof claim 18 further comprising a digital display.
 25. The behaviormodification system of claim 18 further comprising atransmitter/receiver.
 26. The behavior modification system of claim 18further comprising connectivity to a remote wireless network.